Comparison of six monitoring techniques for the reptiles and amphibians at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Toadvine, Holly

I compared the cost, time, and sampling effectiveness of aural surveys, basking surveys, time-constrained surveys, cover boards, road surveys, and pitfall trap arrays at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (CHNWR) from May 1998- August 2000. The objectives of my study were to (1) inventory amphibians and reptiles; (2) compare species richness and relative abundance ofherpetofauna at CHNWR; (3) compare the cost and effectiveness of sampling techniques; and (4) develop a long-term monitoring protocol for amphibians and reptiles at CHNWR. I found a significant effect (p=0.016) among techniques for the number of species detected. I compared 6 techniques using the Shannon-Weaver species diversity index and found that road surveys had the highest species diversity (Hi=I.914). Pitfall trap arrays were the most expensive technique ($2953) and road surveys were the least expensive ($485). For specific information on amphibians I recommend using aural surveys, for turtles basking surveys, and for snakes road surveys. Aural, basking, and road surveys provide presence or absence data to monitor population trends over time. To develop population estimates, pitfall trap arrays, cover board surveys, and timeconstrained searches may be used. I found that road surveys were the most cost effective and yielded the largest number of species. I suggest that road surveys may be the most appropriate technique for long-term monitoring at CHNWR.

Comparison of six monitoring techniques for the reptiles and amphibians at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

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